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Happy Kwanzaa Black Trans Style-The 2011 Remix: Nia

TransGriot Note: On each night of the Kwanzaa celebration, just as I did last year, I'm going to write about each one of those principles and explain how it applies to the chocolate trans community and our cis African descended brothers and sisters.

***Nia (Purpose): To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.

Haban gari What's The News?

It's time to light the fifth candle on the Kinara and ponder the fifth principle of the seven celebrated during Kwanzaa.

Nia. Making our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness. This is a principle I'm definitely on board with and as I noticed this year, seems many of my trans brothers and sisters of African descent have come to an epiphany about it as well.

I'm glad our cis brothers and sisters are beginning to realize that the African American community includes transgender people as well and we can no longer afford to be throwing away their talent if we are serious about the task of helping restore our people to their traditional greatness.

As we continue to point out, there is greatness in the African descended trans community that is untapped and unrealized and all it needs is an opportunity to prove it. We also need the trust and confidence from our people that we can own our power as Sharon Lettman-Hicks of the National Black Justice Coalition is fond of reminding us.

The trans community needs to live up to the nia principle by continuing on the path of closing ranks and building our community. We must continue to nurture, support and build TPOCC to become the muscular organization it needs to be to successfully represent us. We must continue those efforts at the local, regional, state and yes international level to build community. Our African Diaspora trans brothers and sisters could use our help just as we need theirs.

And as we continue to draw inspiration from the nia principle, hopefully the end result will be by the end of this decade not only a more cohesive African descended trans community, but in conjunction with our cis brothers and sisters an African descend community that is once again unquestionably on the path we deviated from a bit to get to our traditional greatness.